The Marketing Tactics That Consistently Work

Most business owners don’t struggle because they lack ideas.

They struggle because they’re surrounded by too many tactics — and no clear way to decide which ones deserve their time.

Last week, we talked about tactics and layered conversations with AI. This week, I want to slow things down and do something more useful:

👉 Share a short list of marketing tactics that consistently work for real, local businesses.

Not because they’re clever.
But because they match how customers actually behave.

These aren’t meant to be used all at once. Think of this as a menu, not a checklist.

Email still outperforms most channels for local businesses.

Not “start a newsletter someday” — just:

The same promotion, done consistently, almost always beats a brand-new one every week.

Customers don’t get bored as fast as owners do.

A quick mention at checkout.
A friendly reminder.
A familiar face in your posts.

This works because it feels human — not promotional.

What came in this week.
What people keep asking about.
What’s happening behind the scenes.

No studio. No script. Just clarity.

Photos, updates, and reviews still drive high-intent traffic.

This is where people go when they’re already close to buying.

You don’t need a complicated program.

A simple nudge at the right moment works surprisingly well.

Most sales don’t happen on the first interaction.

A check-in.
A reminder.
A “just making sure you saw this.”

One main idea.
One action.
The same language everywhere.

Clarity beats creativity almost every time.

Shared audiences.
Shared trust.
Shared wins.

This still works especially well in small communities.

You don’t have to convince them — just remind them.

This works best when you already have traffic or an email list.

These tactics work — but not in isolation.

Most marketing breaks when a tactic isn’t aligned with:

That’s why next week we’re introducing our Marketing Flywheel.

This is the framework we use to make tactics actually work:

Audience → Messaging → Platform → Consistency → Refine

Every tactic should move through this order.

If you skip steps, you don’t get momentum — you get frustration.

Next week, we’ll start at the beginning with Audience, because every good tactic fails if it’s aimed at the wrong people.

If your marketing feels busy but never really works, this video is for you.

In this week’s vlogcast, we talk about why most marketing struggles aren’t caused by bad tactics — they’re caused by no system.

Random marketing creates noise, not results. And jumping from idea to idea kills momentum before it ever has a chance to build.

In the video, we walk through:

If you want your marketing to feel intentional instead of exhausting, this one will click.

👉 Stop Doing Random Marketing

Use this before you commit time or money to a tactic.

How to use it:
Paste this into ChatGPT and replace the brackets.

Prompt:

You are my practical marketing partner for a local business.

My business: [brief description]
My primary customer (audience): [who I actually serve]
My current goal: [what I want to improve]

I am considering this marketing tactic: [insert tactic]

Evaluate this tactic using the following flywheel:

Keep the advice realistic, budget-aware, and specific to a local business.

You don’t need more tactics.
You need tactics that fit your flywheel.

We’ll start building that from the ground up next week.